The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a flexible seal for use in a turbine engine.
A gas turbine engine combusts a mixture of fuel and air to generate hot combustion gases, which in turn drive one or more turbines. In particular, the hot combustion gases force turbine bucket segments to rotate, thereby driving a shaft to rotate one or more loads, e.g., electrical generator. These turbine bucket segments may include shanks that allow for adjacent placement in a turbine stage of the gas turbine engine. At the same time, highly compressed air is often extracted from a compressor for utilization in pressurizing a cavity formed between two adjacent bucket shanks. This positive pressure difference may aid in preventing hot combustion gases from entering into the shank cavity, thus avoiding increases in thermal stresses that adversely affect bucket life. However, as these bucket segments and their shanks may be individually produced and then combined into a single turbine stage, gaps may be present between the individual turbine bucket shanks. These gaps may provide a leakage path for the pressurized shank cavity air, thus reducing overall turbine efficiency and output. Accordingly, it is desirable to minimize the leakage of this pressurizing gas through gaps located between turbine bucket shanks in a turbine stage of a gas turbine engine.